Professor Matthew Finkin's scholarly expertise was recently in demand in the Northeast. On Wednesday, March 20, Professor Finkin testified before a committee of the Vermont Legislature concerning a proposal to amend the state’s constitution to add a worker rights provision. The proposal would follow Illinois in enshrining the right of collective bargaining into the state’s constitution. After his testimony, the committee voted unanimously to recommend the proposal for inclusion into the state constitution.
On March 14, the Supreme Court of Massachusetts held that the academic profession’s understanding of the meaning of academic freedom and the “economic security” of tenure had to be considered in deciding the allowability of a university’s change in salary policy for tenured faculty. The Court’s decision resisted on the analysis of an amicus brief on behalf of a nationwide group of tenured faculty submitted by Professor Finkin. The Court expressly rejected contrary precedent in New York, citing Finkin’s published criticism of the New York decision.